Web Design and Development: A 16-Week Self-Study Course

Have you ever visited a super cool website with fun games, awesome pictures, and interesting stories and thought, How did they build this? What if you could build your own corner of the internet? Welcome to the amazing world of Web Design and Development, where you get to be the architect, the artist, and the engineer of your very own websites!

This guide is your first step on an exciting 16-week adventure. We’ll start from the very beginning, so don’t worry if you’ve never written a line of code before. Think of it like learning a secret language that tells computers what to do. You’ll learn how to build websites from the ground up, starting with simple text and growing into colorful, interactive pages. By the end, you’ll have the skills and the confidence to turn your brilliant ideas into real, working websites. Get ready to unleash your creativity and dive into the fundamentals of web design and development.

What Cool Stuff Will You Learn to Do?

By following along with this journey, you’ll transform from a web explorer into a web creator. You will be able to:

Understand how the internet works like a giant, magical library.
Build the skeleton of a website using the language of HTML.
Style your web pages with awesome colors, fonts, and layouts using CSS.
Make your websites interactive with buttons and simple animations using JavaScript.
Use the same tools that professional developers use every day.
Build a complete, multi-page website all by yourself to show off to friends and family.

Your Super-Simple Toolkit

You don’t need a lot of fancy gear to get started. Here’s your short list of essentials:

A computer (a laptop or desktop works great) with an internet connection.
A web browser like Chrome, Firefox, or Safari. You already have one!
A special notebook for your code. We call this a text editor. A great one that many pros use is called Visual Studio Code (or VS Code), and it’s completely free!

The most important material you need is your own curiosity and excitement to build something new. No experience is required!

Getting Started with Web Design and Development

It’s time to roll up our sleeves and start building. Each week, you’ll learn a new skill that adds to your creator toolkit. Let’s begin!

Week 1: The Digital Canvas: Understanding the Web and Your First HTML Page

Your Mission:
Learn what the internet and World Wide Web really are.
Understand how your browser acts like a super-smart delivery service for websites.
Build your very first, super-simple webpage using HTML.

Secret Code Words (Vocabulary):
HTML (HyperText Markup Language): The special language used to give a website its structure, like the skeleton of a body.
Browser: The app you use to explore the internet (like Chrome or Firefox). It reads the HTML code and shows you the website.
Tag: A command in HTML, usually in pairs like `

` and `

`, that tells the browser what kind of content to show. Think of them like instructions in a LEGO kit.
Element: The whole package: an opening tag, the content inside (like your words or picture), and a closing tag.

The Lesson:
Imagine the internet is a giant city, and websites are all the different buildings in it. Your browser is like a magical teleportation device that takes you to any building you want to visit. These buildings are all constructed with a special material called HTML. HTML uses tags to tell the browser how to build the page. A `

` tag tells the browser, This is a paragraph! An `

` tag shouts, This is a really important heading! These tags almost always come in pairs—an opening tag to start something and a closing tag (with a `/`) to end it.

Let’s Build! Your First Webpage:
1. Open your text editor (like VS Code).
2. Create a new file and save it as `index.html`. The `.html` part is very important!
3. Carefully type or copy this code into your file:
“`html

Hello, World!

This is my very first paragraph on my new website.

“`
4. Save the file.
5. Find the `index.html` file on your computer and open it with your web browser. Poof! You just made a webpage. You’re officially a web developer!

Week 2: Building Blocks: Essential HTML Tags for Content

Your Mission:
Use different tags to format your text with headings and paragraphs.
Create organized, easy-to-read lists.
Add cool pictures and clickable links to your page.

Secret Code Words (Vocabulary):
Heading Tags (`

` to `

`): Used to create titles and subtitles. `

` is the biggest and most important, while `

` is the smallest.
Image Tag (``): A special tag used to place an image on your page.
Anchor Tag (``): Creates a hyperlink—text you can click to go to another webpage.
Unordered List (`

`): Creates a list with bullet points.
Ordered List (`
`): Creates a list with numbers.

The Lesson:
Now that you’ve built a basic page, let’s add more cool stuff! HTML has a whole toolbox of tags for you to use. Headings (`

`, `

`, etc.) help organize your page and make it easy to read. You can make text stand out with the `` tag for bold text and the `` tag for italic text.

Want to add a photo of your pet or a favorite cartoon character? The `` tag is what you need. And what makes the web so special? Links! The `` tag lets you create hyperlinks that can connect your page to any other page on the entire World Wide Web.

Let’s Add More!
1. Open your `index.html` file from last week.
2. Let’s add more code inside the “ tag, right below your first paragraph:
“`html

About Me

I am learning web design and I find it fascinating!

My Favorite Hobbies:

• Reading
• Playing Video Games
• Drawing

My To-Do List:

1. Finish HTML lessons
2. Learn CSS
3. Build an awesome website

“`
3. Save the file and refresh the page in your browser. Look at that! You now have new headings, bold and italic text, and two different kinds of lists.

You have taken the first huge steps on your path to mastering web design and development. You are learning the language of the internet, and with every tag you type, you are building the skills to create anything you can imagine online. Keep practicing, stay curious, and get ready for the next step in your web design and development adventure